Can a Social Media Campaign Help an Online Drug Marketplace Raise its Revenue?

Is there such a thing called “illegal advertising”? Apparently not, when it comes to digital.

In February 2011, the first online black market for drugs was born – Silk Road. It initiated a whole new concept and of course, gained competitors because of its successful business model. Monthly revenue of Silk Road is as high as 1.2 million dollars and it is still up and running.

Silk Road’s competitors work with the same technology as its predecessor, using Tor browser that doesn’t collect browsing data and sites are hosted as hidden services – so there is no way you can get caught. What Silk Road did was revolutionary back in 2011, but its competitor Atlantis is determined to make something even more big – to conduct a thorough social media campaign.

Does this seem like science fiction?

You might be surprised, but they have already started! Check out this video that tells a startup-like story about Charlie the stoner and how Atlantis is making his life better because he now has access to weed that he so desperately needs to get through the day:

In the video description you can find a user manual for downloading a Tor browser and links to Atlantis Facebook and Twitter accounts as well as their website that is more easier to access than Silk Road’s.

It is speculated that Atlantis made over 500K dollars in the first three months after the launch. We are wondering for how much will the upcoming social media campaign raise the revenue? And most importantly, isn’t this a violation of social networks’ advertising policies?

After graduating from the Faculty of Political Science, in the Department for Foreign Affairs, she started working in O3ONE Gallery as a PR Manager, proving that communication is her cup of tea. She has gone digital after organizing Belgrade Festival of New Communications (B-link) for two years in a row, and made a turn towards social networking, online advertising, content and copy writing. Currently, she works at Fullhouse Ogilvy as a Digital Account Manager in Belgrade, Serbia. In 2013, she initiated a pet project Piggy and Cat, a website for restaurant reviews by ordinary people. Jovana loves to talk, read and write.

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